Amanda Hongisto

Please describe your current role.
My emphasis as a Senior Design Engineer for CSX Transportation is in civil construction. This includes the roadbed, bridges, track structure and alignment, cost estimating, schedules, permits, and specifications. On a front end of a project I work with multiple departments across CSX to define the scope, develop order of magnitude estimates, and develop concept layouts drawn in-house in MicroStation. As a project moves forward I continue to work across departments leading a general engineering consultant who creates full detail plans, lead an environmental consultant to obtain permits, develop detail cost estimate, bid documentation and contractor selection. The project is handed over to a Construction Engineer after bidding. I am engaged with the Construction Engineer for reviewing change request as necessary. After the construction the general engineering consultant submits as-built plans for my review and close permits.

What aspects of that are the most challenging?
Permitting a project site can be the most challenging. I cover the entire network that spreads across the east cost of the United States. Every State and County within a State has their own set of preferences for submittals and reviews. We have learned that going from location to location you need an environment consultant that has relationships with local agencies for a project to move forward. It is not common practice for agencies to review a railroad project and it can be difficult to understand the freight industry regulations. We have to be able to educate and move projects forward at expedited speed that department of transportations do not.

What do you like most about your job?
What’s unique about my position is that I have the flexibility to apply new products into our new construction and test reliability. I get to work side by side with our Standards department developing future rail solutions.

What motivates you to put forward your greatest effort?
I have experience in multiple aspects of Design and Construction at CSXT. I understand where the pain can be in building a project. I spend a lot of time driving my design consultants to do their best effort to ensure our product. As designers we control the site and set the budget. If I fail what chance is there for construction to succeed? We are a team. If they struggle I struggle, if they fail I fail, if they succeed we succeed.

What would be your advice to young women entering the industry?
When I started the Railroad 11 years ago Baby Boomers made up over 70% of the company. Today they make up less than a quarter. The people you will be working with were likely trained by a Baby Boomer. They will have norms of both the generation X/millennial technology world as well as less tech Baby Boomer who liked folders, printed paper, and color pencils. Multiple programs are decades behind that you would learn today in school. The hardest thing you will have to work through is the state of technology.